The Jacksonville Jaguars’ staff is one that could have a lot of interesting names on it as new coach Urban Meyer is casting a wide net. Of course, he’s bringing several names he’s known into the organization and is also looking at experienced coaches that have been in the NFL for some time.
The latest coach Meyer reportedly is looking at is Chris Hewitt, who is the Baltimore Ravens’ passing game coordinator. While it isn’t clear if an interview is in the works and exactly what role he would potentially take, The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec reported that there is interest Tuesday.
Jaguars not only have talked to Ravens DL coach Joe Cullen, they've also expressed interest in talking to Ravens defensive pass game coordinator Chris Hewitt. Ravens have already lost two defensive assistants and there could be more coming.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) January 19, 2021
Hewitt, 46, has been with the Ravens since 2012 and started his time there helping coach the Ravens’ special teams group under special teams coordinator, Jerry Rosburg. Since then, he’s worked his way up the coaching order in Baltimore, serving as an assistant secondary coach and head secondary coach before earning his current title as a defensive pass game coordinator.
The Ravens were one of the AFC teams to make it to the postseason and their season just recently ended this weekend after falling to the Buffalo Bills. They were able to get to that point partly because of their passing defense, which ranked sixth in the NFL in 2020 and featured cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Marlon Humpries, as well as edge players like Pernell McPhee, Yannick Ngakoue, and Matt Judon.
Hewitt’s addition would be huge if the Jags could pull it off as he would bring a different style of play to the secondary/ defense. While in Baltimore, Hewitt has expressed that he likes a fully interchangeable secondary, which can adjust according to the opponent’s week-to-week personnel.
“The reality is – and I’ve talked about this before – the way that we play in our secondary, we have a lot of guys who do a lot of interchangeable things,” Hewitt said in August to Zrebiec. “We move guys around, whether it’s a guy playing corner, a guy playing nickel, or a guy playing safety. We’re going to optimize our looks as far as matchups are concerned. So, if there’s a reason for using Jimmy [Smith] at safety, we’ll do that.”
Sounds like Hewitt would be a breath of fresh air to the defensive staff. Additionally, his experience could help get more out of 2020 first-round pick C.J. Henderson, who flashed as a rookie, and others involved in the passing game, too.